Sick At The Rock Marks Leticia Hughes First Sick Event Since Attending Sick Week 2024 – Can She Harness Newfound Power in Her Mustang for Sick Street Car Challenge Class?
Following a couple seasons in the National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) 8.60 Street Race class, Leticia Hughes made the jump to her first drag and drive event at the 2024 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
Doing the event with husband Rick riding as the co-pilot, Leticia completed the week in her 2018 Ford Mustang GT with an 8.57 average and third place in the Sick Street Race Category.
The newest class to Sick At The Rock, the Sick Street Car Challenge, will battle it out alongside the wild Rockingham Big Dog Pro Mods, with classes inspired by the former National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) series: Street Race 8.60, Small Tire Pro Stock, Nostalgia Super Stock – Nostalgia Muscle Car Combo, Coyote Stock and Open Comp. It all takes place at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina April 10th - 12th, 2025! For more details on Sick At The Rock, and the over $50K in payouts, CLICK HERE!
“It was an amazing event,” said Leticia. “I didn’t think we would place top three; we just planned to have a decent tune up in the car, make a single pass each day, and hit the road.” After competing primarily in the NMRA series, Leticia decided to branch out and do a few new events in 2024, including Street Car Braggin Rights.
Leticia and daughter Abbey even wheeled the Sick BBQ-Ice Cream-Hot Dog truck on Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks.
“Doing the drag and drive style of event was so much rewarding,” Leticia said. After completing her season at No Mercy at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Leticia and Rick decided the Mustang needed some upgrades. “The Mustang has an 8.50-NHRA Certified roll cage, so I am currently limited to that performance mark,” said Leticia. “We wanted to take the car to the next level in 2025, and we missed Sick Week this year because of the new upgrades.”
Those changes included a switch in power adders. “Three years ago, we were putting our Whipple supercharger on, and I remember being worried that I wouldn’t be able to drive it, or it would scare me,” Leticia said. “I had so much fun driving it, and so thankful for their support along that journey.”
Keeping the same Stage 2 TKM Performance Gen 3 Coyote with Bret Barber/Air Flow Solutions race ported Gen 3 Coyote cylinder heads, upgraded Comp Cams and a RGR Coyote cam lockout kit, Leticia and Rick removed the Whipple supercharger to get it moved to son Ashton’s Mustang. Making room in the engine bay, Leticia and Rick have installed a pair of HPT Turbochargers in the 68/70-millimeter size, as well as a custom air to water intercooler.
The Whatever It Takes performance-built Turbo 400 transmission will remain behind the powerplant, with a Circle D Specialties Pro Series bolt together converter making the connection between the engine and transmission.
The engine upgrades will be complete in time for Leticia to jump into the new Sick Street Car Challenge class at the Sick At The Rock event. “I’m definitely nervous about the new combo and I know there will be a learning curve for me and my team,” said Leticia. “I am hoping to get some testing in before the event, but running the new class will help me learn during competition while keeping me at the eighth-mile. I am excited about pushing my program to the next level, for myself as a driver and my team.”
Leticia Hughes wants to claim her share of the $32,000 up for grabs in our Sick Street Car Challenge class; do you have a street car that can compete? CLICK HERE to find out more about our upcoming Sick At The Rock event, April 10th through the 12th, 2025 at Rockingham Dragway.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Leticia Hughes, Lujan Media and Stage Lane Productions.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com